The Big Parade and The General Arrive at Academy's Summer of Silents 7/18

The 1925 Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor winner "The Big Parade," will be screened on Monday, July 18, as the next feature in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Summer of Silents" series. On Wednesday, July 20, "The General" (1927), starring Buster Keaton, will be presented as a bonus feature in the series. Both features will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Film preservationist, historian and 2010 Academy Honorary Award winner Kevin Brownlow will introduce the features on both nights.

"The Big Parade," directed by King Vidor and starring John Gilbert, is the tale of a young soldier's experiences during World War I. The movie is one of the highest-grossing silent films of all time. A newly restored 35mm tinted print from Warner Bros. will be screened with a recorded orchestral score composed by Carl Davis. At 7 p.m., Diana Serra Cary, who gained fame as "Baby Peggy," will introduce the short subject "Brownie's Little Venus" (1921), in which she stars.

Though not a Photoplay award winner, "The General" is a silent era classic. Keaton's Civil War comedy about a Confederate train engineer is considered one of the star's masterpieces, mixing slapstick with spectacular action sequences. A 35mm print from the original negative from Photoplay Productions will be screened with a recorded orchestral score by Carl Davis. At 7 p.m. John Bengston will offer insights into the Los Angeles filming locations of silent stars Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

The Medal of Honor, the first significant annual film award, pre-dating the establishment of the Oscars®, was voted by the readers of Photoplay Magazine and given to the producer of the year's winning film.

"Summer of Silents" features silent film classics from the 1920s, all of which received the Photoplay Magazine Medal of Honor, on Mondays through August 8.

The remaining schedule for "Summer of Silents" is as follows:

July 25 "Beau Geste" (1926)
"Saturday Afternoon" (1926), starring Harry Langdon, will be presented during the pre-show. The feature will be introduced by Frank Thompson, with live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

August 1 "7th Heaven" (1927)
"Mighty Like a Moose" (1926), starring Charley Chase, and a surviving fragment from the 1928 lost film "The Patriot" will be presented during the pre-show. The feature will be introduced by Janet Bergstrom, with live musical accompaniment composed by Michael Mortilla, and performed by Mortilla on piano, Nicole Garcia on violin and Frank Macchia on winds.

August 8 "Four Sons" (1928)
"Two Tars" (1928), starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and a fragment from the 1928 lost film "The Case of Lena Smith" will be presented during the pre-show.

Updated information on speakers, music performers and other program details is available at www.oscars.org.

Tickets to individual evenings are on sale now. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with valid ID. They may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

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